Hospital Debuts Vegan Menu to Speed Patient Recovery

The Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach becomes the first medical center in Florida to offer plant-based menu to patients.

The Good Samaritan Medical Center in West Palm Beach, FL became the first in the state to offer patients a plant-based menu. Patients at the medical center will be able to choose plant-based dishes from a new menu that includes veggie wraps, seasoned tomatoes, and quinoa salads. David Dodson, MD helped launch the plant-based menu and believes that the initiative will soon be adopted by hospitals nationwide. “I was on rounds one day,” Dodson told local news outlet WPTV, “and a patient of mine had been admitted to the hospital with a heart attack, and he had a stent. I happened to be rounding at noontime, and they were serving him a cheeseburger! And I said, 'Wait a minute, something's wrong here.’ I think eventually all hospitals will be doing this, but somebody has to start it, and I think Good Sam is the leader.” Mounting scientific evidence suggests that consuming a plant-based diet decreases the risk of contracting a heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer.